The Curse Of Guru Meow
by XachMustel
Summary: While chasing Delgado, the Dimitris accidentally break Deepak's Guru Meow statue and instead of apologizing, they bully him for crying over it. With some help from Dante, Dolly decides to teach the trio a lesson by pranking them while Dylan tries to discipline them the old fashioned way while Doug and Delilah are off on their honeymoon.
1. Shattered Cat

"Meow-ow-ow-ow..." Deepak calmly droned, sitting in his usual lotus position in front of his usual area. Everything seemed so peaceful but the ying-yang patterned puppy had a feeling in his gut that something was going to go awry. Even so, he tried his best to ignore the gut feeling in hopes it would go away. Then again, the universe would throw him a curveball that day which would totally take him by surprise.

The atmosphere suddenly filled with the noise of laughter as Delgado darted into the room at full speed. He was being chased by the trio of Dimitris as he dashed around a nearby table. Delgado darted in and out of the area as each Dimitri tried their best to catch the disabled pup but he was quick for them to catch them. Even so, the Dimitri trio were doing literally bouncing off the walls in an attempt to catch their faster brother.

Deepak was too deeply into his meditation state to even notice the chaos unfolding before him when Dimitri 3 parkoured off a wall and came crashing head-first into the zen pup's Guru Meow statue. The statue immediately fell and shattered into pieces on the hard floor. Suddenly, Deepak's eyes snapped open as he exited his trance and he stared down in horror at his broken statue as Delgado and the Dimitris continued to romp around the room. The ying-yang patterened pup opened his mouth and let out a high-pitched shriek and everything came to a grinding halt.

Delgado's jaw dropped as he stared in shock over at the broken statue and upon making eye contact with Deepak, he noticed the smaller pup's eyes were flooded with tears and he looked like he was going to cry at any second.

"G...Guru Meow?" Deepak felt his heart shatter just like his beloved statue and the waterworks came out full force. In a split second, Delgado was at Deepak's side, awkwardly stroking the crying pup's back to try and calm him as he sobbed over his broken Guru Meow.

The Dimitris just scoffed and laughed at the sight before them. They always found Deepak's cat obsession to be downright ridiculous. Dimitri 1 picked up on Deepak attempting one of his meowing mantras through choked sobs and just snickered, "Aw, don't be such a little cry-kitty Deepak."

Delgado stroked Deepak's back even harder as the mantra intensified but then Dimitri 2 chimed in, "Yeah, it's just a stupid cat toy. It's so lame that you're actually CRYING over it!"

Deepak sobbed even harder, hot tears running down his muzzle and dripping off his nose like a leaking tap. One by one, Deepak's tears dripped upon the broken shards before him as he continued his weepy mantra. Delgado watched in horror as Deepak's paws squeezed the pieces of his shattered Guru Meow to the point where his blood was drawn.

Dimitri 3 smirked at Deepak's emotional reaction before speaking up, "Besides, the whole inner cat thing isn't what dogs do. Guru Meow doesn't even exist. If you actually think that you have an inner cat than you're even stupider than I thought!"

Instantly, Deepak felt a burst of fiery rage take over him and he leapt up in the air and pounced down on Dimitri 3, pinning him to the ground and snarling, "How DARE you insult the great teachings of the Guru Meow! You know what you are? You're nothing but a BIG BULLY! And you know what Guru Meow does to bullies? He CURSES them until they learn their lesson and say sorry! I may not be able to curse you myself but your disrespect has already condemned you. Now get out of my sight and leave me to mourn!"

Delgado watched completely in shock, mortified by the Dimitri's treatment of poor Deepak and equally surprised by Deepak's angry outburst. He had never seen Deepak get truly enraged before so this was a first for him. As the Dimitris got up and scattered away, calling Deepak a "weirdo", the paraplegic pup slowly approached his emotional brother and placed a paw on his shoulder. There was an awkward silence between the two before Delgado cleared his throat, "Your paw is bleeding."

"The cuts on my paws are nothing compared to the cuts on my heart." Deepak whimpered, tears still dripping freely from his adorable face.

Delgado frowned at the response and let out a sigh, "I'll go get Dylan and Dolly, you stay here and I'll be back in a jif."

All Deepak could do was wail in response as Delgado zipped off. If he ran any faster, there would no doubt be a trail of flames following him as he zipped his way to the treehouse where Dylan and Dolly were relaxing on the deck, "YouGuysComeOnDownSomethingBadHasHappenedToDeepakTheDimitrisBrokeHisGuruMeowAndNowHesCryingAndBleedingAndAllSadAndUpsetAndYouGottaHelpHim!"

"One word at a time, little bro." Dolly said, leaping off the deck, "Now, what's this about Deepak?"

"He's bleeding and crying." Delgado replied, his breathing slowing down, "The Dimitri's broke his Guru Meow."

"What?" Dolly gasped in shock. Her face instantly contorted into a look of anger, "I'm gonna go kick their sorry butts if it's the last thing I do!"

"No you won't, Dolly." Dylan replied sternly at his sister, following her down the ladder, "You're closer to Deepak than I am so you help bandage him. If you try beating the Dimitris up, that'll only make things worse. I'll be having a word with them myself. So exactly how badly is Deepak bleeding and from where?"

"It's just his paw." Delgado replied, "He got cut while squeezing the shards of his broken statue. The Dimitris started making fun of him for crying over it and he got really angry and yelled at them. I've never seen Deepak get so angry in my life."

"Can I still kick their butts when you're done scolding them?" Dolly asked Dylan, trying to win him over with puppydog eyes.

"No, you may not, Dolly." Dylan said sternly, making Dolly's expression go sour, "Well, I'm relieved to know that Deepak's not in life-threatening danger, I'm disgusted by the way the Dimitris treated him. If you ask me, they need a time out so they can think about what they've done. Dawkins, first aid kit if you please."

Without a word, Dawkins ran into the treehouse and fetched Dylan the first aid kit which he then handed over to Dolly, "Here, use the supplies in there to disinfect the wound site. The last thing we need is Deepak getting sick and dying from an infection."

Dolly rolled her eyes at Dylan's melodrama but otherwise took the kit into her paws, "Lead the way, Delgado."

"Of course." The paraplegic puppy replied as he zipped back into the house. The two of them dashed to where Deepak was and Dolly's heart sank when she saw her ying-yang faced brother weeping softly into his paws with his face stained in a mixture of tears and blood. She placed a paw on Deepak's shoulder and pulled him into a hug, "It's okay, little bro. I'm here."

Delgado tapped Dolly on the shoulder, "Um, Dolly. The first aid kit."

"Oh, yeah!" Dolly perked up, "Thanks for reminding me."

Dolly opened up the first aid kit and pulled out some rubbing alcohol wipes and gauze, "Now this may sting a little, Deepak. Hold out your paws."

Nodding, Deepak showed Dolly his bloody and cut up paws and winced as she pressed the wipes to them, "You're right. It does sting a bit but it doesn't sting near as bad as the Dimitri's words."

"What exactly did they tell you?" Dolly asked, winding some gauze around Deepak's paws and forming a cast around them.

Deepak hung his head and let out a watery sniffle, "They called me a cry-kitty and told me that I was stupid for believing in Guru Meow."

Dolly instantly recoiled in disgust at what Deepak told her. The fact that they openly made fun of him for his religious practices made her anger flare up ten times worse than it already was. There was no way the Dimitris would get away with just a stern scolding from Dylan. Dolly needed to teach them a lesson once and for all but needed a way to do so without resorting to physical violence, "How did you reply back?"

"I told them that Guru Meow is real and curses bullies like them but I was only bluffing about the curse part. In reality, Guru Meow is a deeply caring figure with a heart as large as the universe itself." Deepak explained, bitter tears welling up again as he buried his face in Dolly's chest.

"Is that so?" Dolly smirked, "You know what, Deepak? You're a genius. As a matter of fact, you're even smarter than Dylan and Dawkins combined."

"R-really?" Deepak stammered, rapidly blinking the tears out of his eyes, "H-how so?"

"You just gave me a brilliant idea on how to teach those punks a lesson once and for all." Dolly laughed, wiping a stray tear from Deepak's left cheek with her thumb, "A curse should be able to scare them straight."

"Were you even listening?" Deepak huffed, "I told you that Guru Meow is unable to cast curses. He is a benevolent being incapable of vengeance and hatred."

"But the Dimitris don't know that." Dolly replied, "And I know exactly who can give me a helping paw."

"Now Dolly, please don't go and do anything rash." Deepak begged with big, watery eyes, "Guru Meow doesn't approve of revenge."

"Don't worry, Deepak. I won't." Dolly lied, crossing her fingers behind her back, "Now go take it easy for a while. I've got work to do."

As Dolly and Delgado left Deepak to rest, Delgado tapped Dolly on her shoulder, "You were lying, weren't you?"

Dolly sighed and hung her head, "I had to. I just can't let those jerks get away with bullying poor little Deepak like that. They need to be taught a lesson and it'll take more than Dylan lecturing them to get it into their thick skulls."


	2. The Stage Is Set

"So let me get this straight." Dante cleared his throat, "You want me to cook up a curse on the Dimitris because they insulted Deepak's beliefs, broke his Guru Meow and made him cry? All right, just keep in mind that I don't offer my services for free."

"Name your price." Dolly said without hesitation, a wicked smile growing across her muzzle.

"All right. For the next two weeks at the stroke of midnight, you must listen to my deepest, darkest poetry that I poured all my heart and soul into." Dante replied with a smirk, "If you decide to back out, I'll wake you up and stare at you until you decide to listen."

Dolly rubbed her chin, "Two whole weeks? Man, I don't wanna oversleep and miss hanging out with Roxy and Snowball. How about we compromise and say just Monday and Thursday night?"

"So four nights total?" Dante asked with a shrug, "Okay, Sounds reasonable. It would give me extra time to work on it. Just make sure to mark your calendar so you don't forget because if you do forget, I'll stare at you until you remember."

"Are you really capable of casting curses on people?" Dolly asked, raising an eyebrow. Even if he was her own fur and blood, the goth was awfully private and mysterious even among his fellow family members.

"Not really, to be honest." Dante confessed, "But I do have a book on curses. It's gonna help out immensely if we want this prank to go right."

"Oh joy!" Dolly excitedly clapped her paws together, "Those Dimitris won't know what hit them!"

The goth pulled out a large book with a pentagram on the cover, opened it up and started flipping through it, "So the thing about Guru Meow is that he isn't a vengeful figure. As a matter of fact, he'd cause blessings instead of curses. However, Guru Meow had a twin brother named Guru Hiss. Guru Hiss was...not so nice. He'd put curses on people if they so much as looked at him the wrong way. Unfortunately, the plants he used for his curses are extinct nowadays so it looks like we'll have to try our best to emulate one of his curses. It's also a fun fact that Guru Hiss hated all dogs with a passion and his favorite curse to place on them was to turn them into helpless kittens."

"How are we gonna turn the Dimitris into cats without magic?" Dolly asked.

"Simple." Dante smiled at his big sister, "First we get some milk from the store. The first step is the transformation is a craving for milk. Then the second symptom of Guru Hiss' cat curse is the lingering cat odor so we'll ask Constantin next door for his fur brush and use it to brush the Dimitris' fur while they are asleep. I've watched them sleep and all three are pretty heavy sleepers. A bomb could go off and they would sleep through it. Once they smell like cats, Dylan will take notice cause of his allergies."

"So what happens next?" Dolly asked, practically tingling with excitement.

"Finally, the dog turns into a full-on cat. Don't ask me how we're gonna alter their appearance but getting the milk and cat odor should be easy enough." The gothic pup shrugged as he closed his book.

"I know exactly how we're gonna turn them into cats." Dolly smirked.

"You do?" Dante blinked, raising an eyebrow.

"Triple D one time did a cat food commercial." Dolly replied, "The director let them keep the costumes at the end but they barely even wear them. At least with this prank, they'll be put to good use rather than collect dust in a closet."

"Looks like we've got this all squared away then." Dante smirked, giving Dolly a firm pawshake, "Let's get this show on the road."

Meanwhile, all three Dimitris were lined up in front of Dylan who was pacing back and forth. None of them so much as uttered a peep as Dylan took a deep breath before launching into a rant, "So Deepak told me everything that happened. The way you broke his Guru Meow and made fun of him for crying about it. Do any of you realize that mom and dad have a strict anti-bullying rule in this house? Furthermore-"

"Pffft! Who cares?" Dimitri 1 stuck his tongue out at Dylan.

"Rules are for fools!" Dimitri 2 laughed, earning him a high five from Dimitri 3.

"Yeah! And besides, Deepak cries over everything. He'd cry if a leaf brushes his face so why should we care?" Dimitri 3 spat in defiance.

"You SHOULD care because once I tell mom and dad about what you did, all three of you will be in some seriously hot water!" Dylan snarled at the trio who all just stuck their tongues out in unison and blew raspberries at their big brother.

"Poodlewolf sucks!" The trio shouted in unison, trying to get a rise out of Dylan.

Ignoring them, Dylan left the room and closed the door on them, leaving the trio in time out. He then walked down the hallway and entered a room where Deepak sat on a soft cushion, meditating happily to himself. Dylan smiled down at his little brother, "So how's the healing going?"

"Physically, I guess I'm okay but emotionally, I think I need some more time." Deepak replied, snapping out of his meditating trance and smiling warmly at Dylan.

"Take all the time you need to recover, Deepak." Dylan smiled back, "If you need anything, just name it."

"Some organic kibble would hit the spot right about now." Deepak said, rubbing his eyes with his paws.

"Coming right up." Dylan chuckled as he prepared to exit the room, "By the way, have you seen Dolly lately?"

"She's probably off on one of her adventures." Deepak shrugged, "You know her, can't sit still for a minute."

"Right about that, Deepak." Dylan laughed as he left the room to get his little brother's organic food.

Later that evening, Dolly and Dante were sitting in the parking lot of a local Asda as the sun was setting upon Camden Town.

"Just so you know, this is probably the dumbest thing I'm ever gonna do." Dante complained, prying his eyes open with his paws while inserting red contact lenses, "Besides, we should probably be home for dinner soon." The goth blinked a few times as his eyes took on a sinister red glow in the dark.

"Bro, you're starting to sound like Dylan." Dolly groaned, rolling her eyes, "Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Worst case scenario? I could get caught for acting like a rabid dog and euthanized by the pound. Best case scenario, we snag the milk and I get my five seconds of fame on the local news as The Hellhound Who Terrorized The Local Camden Town Supermarket." Dante put the title in quotes with his purple fingers for emphasis, "Seriously, why do you think up of all these crazy ideas?"

"Crazy?" Dolly raised an eyebrow, "You should really look in a mirror, Dante. You're the one whose always freaking out over the end of the world."

"Hey, it's gonna happen someday." Dante replied with a shrug, "Like it or not, we gotta build an apocalypse shelter sometime."

"Try convincing Dawkins to build one and I'll get back to you on that." Dolly snickered as the two entered the building.

Immediately, Dolly made a mad dash for the milk section while Dante got into a defensive stance and began snarling, flashing his fangs while letting out his scariest barks. But much to the goth's surprise, the people weren't running from fear. In fact, several humans gathered around Dante and began snapping photos of him while fawning over just how cute he was. Meanwhile, Dolly had just parkoured off of a produce bin and opened the freezer door with her mouth. Jumping off the door, the tomboy lept up and snagged a quart of milk in her jaws before running off. As she was running, she looked over and saw a little old lady giving Dante belly rubs and all the goth could do was stare at her in shock, confusion and discomfort. Dolly poked Dante on the shoulder, "We gotta go, now."

Without hesitation, Dante got up and the two ran out the door. As soon as they got outside, Dante hung his head and whimpered softly, "They...they thought I was CUTE!"

"So?"

"Hellhounds aren't supposed to be cute!" Dante whined, pouting a bit as he removed his contacts, "They're supposed to be terrifying portents of DOOM and MISERY! Everyone was just trying to pat me and give me doggy treats. Am I really that adorable? Am I...not scary at all?"

Dolly rolled her eyes, "You're about as scary as a bunny dressed in a sunflower costume, Dante. Now let's get back before Dylan blows a gasket."


	3. Phase I: Craving

Dylan was lounging around the couch, channel surfing with the remote when he stopped on a news channel. He watched a generic-looking female reporter with bright red lipstick speak into her microphone, "Good evening, Camden Town. In a few hours, we're going to cover a news story about how the world's most adorable hellhound showed up in a local Asda supermarket and won the hearts of shoppers."

Dylan rolled his eyes, "A hellhound? Really? What's next, are leprechauns gonna run wild around the park?"

Groaning, he turned off the TV and there was a knock at the door. Tiredly, he pressed his paw to the scanner and the door opened. Before him stood Dolly and Dante. The tomboy had a quart of milk in her teeth and an annoyed look on her face as the goth sobbed into his paws. Dylan rolled his eyes again, "What are you two doing out so late and why is he crying?"

"I'm...I'M CUUUUUUUUTE!" Dante wailed pathetically, tears streaming down his face like waterfalls.

"You know what? I'm not even gonna ask." Dylan replied as the two stepped into the house.

Dolly placed the quart of milk down to speak, "Late night grocery run. Also, Dante is having a bit of a crisis because the general public thinks he's cute."

"WHY CAN'T I BE SCARY?!" Dante wept loudly, burying his face into his paws again.

"You're plenty scary, Dante." Dylan replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"You...you really think so?" Dante sniffled, wiping his paw across his nose.

"You're absolutely terrifying." Dylan groaned, sarcasm practically dripping from his voice.

Instantly, the goth latched onto him and squeezed him into a tight hug, "Thanks man, that means so much coming from you."

"You're...welcome." Dylan coughed, surprised at just how strong Dante really was.

Dante released Dylan from the hug and it took a little while for the nerd to catch his breath, "So...what are you guys doing with milk, anyways? We don't drink milk."

"Milk helps build strong bones." Dolly replied matter-of-factly as she tilted her head and smiled.

"Good point." Dylan sighed, his ears drooping, "The two of you just stay out of trouble. The last thing we need is another mess and more hurt pups. By the way, you guys missed dinner."

And with that, Dylan headed off to his treehouse while Dante huffed and crossed his arms in irritation as his stomach growled a bit. Dolly placed a paw on his shoulder, "Let's go check on the trio to make sure they're asleep."

"You're right." Dante nodded, "I was so wrapped up in my cute crisis that I almost forgot about phase one of the plan. Thanks for reminding me."

"You're welcome, bro." Dolly replied, playfully punching the goth on his shoulder.

The two of them stepped into the kitchen and pulled out three bowls, filling each one up with milk. Just then, Delgado came zipping down the hallway and into the kitchen, "Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy! Are you two cooking? Can I help out, Dolly? Pleeease."

"Sorry, Delgado. Dante and I aren't exactly cooking." Dolly replied sadly, ears wilting.

Dante turned and faced Dolly, "There are three Dimitris and only two of us. Having Delgado along for the ride could help save a trip."

"Good idea, Dante." Dolly nodded, "Oh second thought, Delgado, you can help Dante and I bring these bowls of milk to the Dimitris."

"Why?" Delgado blinked in confusion, "I thought they were being punished for upsetting Deepak."

"They might get thirsty tonight." Dolly smiled softly at her little brother, "Even bullies need refreshments once in a while."

"Oh." Delgado nodded, "I get it. We don't want them to die of thirst."

"Just try to be careful and not run with the bowls." Dante warned the paraplegic pup, "Last thing we need is Dylan breathing down our necks. He seemed to be pretty ticked off lately and I can't say I blame him."

"Got it, Dante." Delgado grinned, "You can count on me to be as gentle as a butterfly!"

And with that, Delgado zipped down the hallway with the bowl of milk in his mouth as both Dolly and Dante facepalmed in unison. The tomboy and goth picked up the bowls in their mouths as they slowly followed Delgado to the room where all 3 Dimitris were fast asleep.

"Like sitting ducks." Dolly smirked to herself evilly as she set a bowl in front of Dimitri 2 and placed his paws and muzzle into it. Dante likewise did it to Dimitri 3 and Delgado copied his two older siblings and did so with Dimitri 1.

The trio smiled at their worked but then Delgado gasped in horror, "But...but what if they drown in the milk?"

"OH MY DOG DELGADO, YOU ARE SO RIGHT!" Dante abruptly yelled as he violently shook the disabled pups' shoulders, "What if they drown and all three of us get charged with murder and sentenced to guillotine where we get our heads chopped off and have to live as HEADLESS ZOMBIE PUPPIES FOR THE REST OF OUR UNDEAD LIVES!"

The goth proceeded to curl up into a fetal position and suck his thumb as Dolly rolled her eyes at his melodrama, "For starters, the UK doesn't execute criminals anymore. Secondly, there's no such thing as zombies. And lastly, Delgado has a pretty good point. Looks like the three of us will keep watch so these bozos won't drown."

Delgado eagerly raised his paw, "I volunteer for first watch!"

"I'm second." Dolly replied, "So it looks like you get 3rd shift oh Lord Of The Shadows." She gave Dante a playful noogie and all he did was whimper as he continued to suck his thumb.

Meanwhile, Doug and Delilah were sitting in an alleyway restaurant under a street lamp. Both were eating spaghetti together much like Lady and the Tramp. Groaning, Doug stared down at his spaghetti, "Honey, don't you ever get the feeling that something is off?"

"What do you mean?" Delilah askled, raising an eyebrow.

"My sixth sense if telling me that something bad happened back at the house and I just can't shake that feeling." Doug replied, scratching the back of his neck.

Delilah sighed and gave her husband a lick on the nose, "Dylan is a very responsible boy and he has Dawkins backing him up. I'm sure it's all just your imagination, dear."

"I know but he has so many siblings to look after and he and Dolly are always butting heads." Doug frowned, avoiding eye contact, "Some sort of drama went down back at the house, I just know it."

"Look, you've been working too hard lately." Delilah replied calmly, "Maybe take a few days off."

"I already did take a few days off for our honeymoon." Doug reminded his wife, "Last thing I want is to get fired."

Delilah leaned forward and nuzzled her husband with her long snout, "It's all right, honey. I'm sure your work will understand."

"I just hope my gut is wrong." Doug whined, covering his eyes with his paws.


	4. Phase II: Scent

Dimitri 1's eyes slowly opened to the sight of the morning sun glaring through the windows. Instantly, he felt his muzzle was wet with something and his eyes widened as he fully snapped awake, "Wait...did I fall asleep in a bowl of milk?"

The other Dimitris woke up and both of them seemed equally confused. As if on cue, Dante stepped out of the shadows and smirked at the three, "You know, the three of you should be careful with who you insult. When you bullied Deepak, it invoked the wrath of Guru Meow so if looks like the three of you are cursed."

"Cursed?" Dimitri 2 chimed in.

"You must be joking with us!" Dimitri 3 added, now feeling a bit nervous.

"I'm afraid not." The goth replied, whipping out his tome of curses and opening it up, "According to my curse encyclopedia, the Curse Of Guru Meow has three stages. First stage, you will begin to crave milk so much so that you will sleepwalk in order to get it. The second stage is that you start to smell like a cat so if Dylan's allergies flare up with no cats around, it'll be all your fault. Finally, you transform into cats yourselves."

"No way!" Dimitri 1 gasped.

"Are you pulling our leg?" Dimitri 2 blinked in confusion.

"Is...is there a cure?" Dimitri 3 sniffled, tears welling up.

"Once the effects of the curse kick in, there's no cure whatsoever." Dante replied coldly, snapping his book shut, "Serves you right for the awful things you've said to Deepak. Have fun chasing balls of yarn for the rest of your lives."

And with that, the goth stepped out of the room as all 3 Dimitris burst into full-on panic mode. As soon as he was out of earshot, both Dante and Dolly erupted into hysterical fits of laughter. "They...they so totally bought it!" Dante howled, tears rolling down his muzzle from laughter as he banged his fists on the floor.

"Yeah." Dolly laughed, "And the best part is that we're only on the first phase of the prank. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when this whole thing is done!"

"This is the most fun I've ever had in a long time." Dante snickered, wiping his mirthful tears away with his black paws, "Come on, I'll go get those costumes from Triple D, you go get the brush from Constantin."

"Right behind ya, bro." Dolly snickered as she followed her brother down the hall and out the door.

Meanwhile, down the hall in another room, Deepak was doing his usual meow-ow-ow mantra when the door opened and Da Vinci entered the room. Deepak slowly opened one eye and smiled at his paint-stained sister, "Good morning, Da Vinci. I see you've come to check in on me."

"I heard about what the Dimitris did to you so I decided to make you a gift." Da Vinci replied, holding out a paper mache replica of the Guru Meow, "I know it's only made of paper but I hope you like it."

Gasping with joy, Deepak jumped off of his cushion and ran up to Da Vinci, tackling her into a warm hug while nuzzling her, "Thank you so much, Da Vinci! You have no idea just how much that means to me. Bless you, sister. Oh, bless you. Namaste."

The emotional ying-yang patterened pup couldn't contain his happy tears and just sobbed into Da Vinci's chest as she smiled at him and patted his head. It was then that Dylan walked into the room, "Hey, Deepak. I'm here to check on your paw. How's it healing?"

Deepak stopped crying and broke away from Da Vinci, turning his attention to Dylan, "It's healing just fine, thank you very much. Guru Meow really worked his magic on it when I prayed to him last night."

Dylan rolled his eyes a bit at how unscientific Deepak was but decided not to say anything as he didn't want to open up any old wounds. He know just how emotionally fragile his new age brother was and didn't want to hurt his feelings, "I'll take off the gauze and re-apply some disinfectant just to be on the safe side. Okay, Deepak?"

"All right." Deepak nodded, holding out his paw, "If you say so."

Dylan took the gauze cast off of Deepak's paw and examined the wound, "Good news is that there's no visible scarring. The shards didn't cut deep enough for that."

"What's the bad news?" Deepak gulped, now shivering with fear.

"There is no bad news." Dylan smiled, "Even so, I'm still going to disinfect your paw again. Better safe than sorry."

Instantly, the door swung open and all 3 Dimitris raced into the room and clung to Dylan, "WE'VE BEEN CURSED!"

"Wh-What?" Dylan gasped in shock as the triplets crowded around him.

"First we crave the milk." Dimitri 1 sobbed.

"Then we smell like cats!" Dimitri 2 wept.

"And then we turn into cats!" Dimitri 3 bawled.

"What on Earth are you guys talking about?" Dylan blinked, "Who told you all this?"

"Dante told us!" All three Dimitris wailed hysterically, "WE'VE BEEN CURSED!"

Dylan groaned while pinching the bridge of his snout, "Ugh, should've known that he and Dolly were up to something." Deepak opened his mouth to try to speak but Dylan hushed him, "I'll go look for them, stay here where it's safe." He then glared at the crying Dimitris, "As for the three of you, get back into time out."

Whimpering, the trio dashed out of the room as Dylan pressed his nose to the ground and started tracking the goth's scent.

Meanwhile, Dolly stood in front of Constantin's house and rung his doorbell. The cat opened the door to his house and rolled his eyes, "Oh, it's you. What do you want?"

"I need your hairbrush." Dolly replied, trying her best not to sound awkward.

"What for?" Constantin asked, "There had better be a good reason."

Dolly sighed and hung her head, "Look, The Dimitris have been picking on Deepak over his belief in Guru Meow so-"

"Those little thugs insulted a disciple of the great Guru Meow?" The cat interrupted Dolly, "Here, take the brush. Whatever you plan on doing with it, I hope it aids you in your quest. Good day to you."

Constantin handed Dolly the brush without hesitation and shut the door. Staring down at the fur-covered brush, the tomboy couldn't help but shrug, "That was easy."

Meanwhile, Dante slowly and nervously knocked on the door to Triple D's room. He always tried to avoid that place as the pastels and hot pink that decorated it hurt his gothic eyes but he needed the costumes for the final phase, "I'm such an idiot. I should've went and gotten the brush instead." He muttered to himself as the door opened and the divas peeked their heads out.

"Like what do you want, Dante?" Destiny asked, rolling her eyes.

Dante scratched the back of his neck, inserting his paw beneath his spiked collar, "Dolly told me that you guys own some cat costumes cause you did some cat food commercial. We um...kinda need them for a prank."

"In that case, go ahead and help yourself." Dallas grinned, "We'll show you to our wardrobe."

Dante nervously nodded and as soon as he set foot in Triple D's room, he felt as vulnerable as a vampire in a garlic factory. All the glitter and pastels and unicorn decor made him want to vomit but he held back his gag reflex as he braved his way into the room. He followed the triplets to their wardrobe and they turned towards him, "This is like where we keep our important costumes." Destiny explained to the goth.

"We keep the trashy stuff in the closet over there." Dallas said, pointing in the other direction, "That's where you'll find our cat costumes."

"Oh, I wouldn't call them trash." Deja Vu giggled, "They work pretty well for Halloween parties."

"Uh...thanks." Dante replied, still a bit on edge as he opened the closet and pulled out the cat costumes, "So uh...I'll just be on my way with these costumes if you don't mind."

"Wait." Deja Vu blinked a few times, "What DO you need these costumes for?"

"Yeah, Dante?" Dylan's voice called out, "What DO you need them for?"

"Like I said before, Dolly and I are pulling a prank on the Dim-" Immediately, the goth turned around and went absolutely pale at the sight of Dylan standing behind him, arms crossed, "D...dylan. I can explain!"

"You are like." Dallas snickered.

"So totally." Destiny added.

"BUH-STED!" Deja Vu finished.

Meanwhile, Dolly was checking on the Dimitris who were still in time out, running around in a blind panic like headless chickens. The tomboy cleared her throat and spoke up, "Attention, everyone! I found an antidote to your curse! BEHOLD!"

Dolly held up Constantin's fur brush and the Dimitris gazed at it in awe, "So will it really cure us?" Dimitri 1 asked.

"Sure, just rub it all over your body and you'll be cats no more!" Dolly cheered as the trio literally bowled her over and grabbed the brush from her. Dolly held back laughter as the three fought over the brush and rubbed it all over themselves, covering themselves with cat dander. Little did they know, they took the bait and were digging themselves even deeper. As soon as Dylan suffered from an allergic reaction, it was game over for them.


	5. Phase III: Transformation

Dylan and Dante sat alone together in Dylan's treehouse as the older brother paced back and forth in front of the goth, "So Dante, spill the beans. Tell me everything and I'll decide how to deal with you and Dolly."

Dante gulped, shaking like a leaf, "Well, remember how The Dimitris insulted Deepak and broke his Guru Meow? Turns out Dolly was pretty upset by it so she approached me, asking for my help to pull a prank."

"Go on..."

"Well, together we decided to teach the Dimitris a lesson for mistreating Deepak. We were going to emulate the curse of Guru Hiss to trick the Dimitris into thinking that they were cursed. You see, they're pretty heavy sleepers so they're notoriously easy to prank. Dolly and I made a late night grocery run where I dressed as a hellhound to distract the customers while she snagged the milk. We then came home and poured the milk into bowls. Delgado helped us out with bringing the milk to the Dimitris." Dante explained, hanging his head.

"Was Delgado also in on the prank?" Dylan asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dante shook his head in response, "He had no idea that we were pranking the Dimitris but he was a pretty big help to us in our plan. After we delivered the milk to the Dimitris in time out, we stuck their heads in the bowls of milk and took shifts to make sure they didn't drown. When they woke up, I told them that they were cursed so they must've ran to you to seek out help. Dolly and I decided to split up so she could get Constantin's cat brush while I got Triple D's cat costumes. Knowing Dolly, she's probably tricked the Dimitris into rubbing the brush all over themselves so most likely, you're gonna have an allergic reaction to them next time you see them."

"Thank you for your honesty, Dante." Dylan replied with a smile, "Okay, I'll give you two choices. One, you report Dolly to mom and dad in exchange for a reduced grounding sentence and drop your prank or two, you let me in on your prank and I get to show the Dimitris a few tricks of my own." Dylan's smile turned evil.

Dante blinked a few times and tilted his head, "Why would you want in on our prank?"

"They had the nerve to tell me that Poodlewolf sucks." Dylan replied, matter-of-factly.

Dante rolled his eyes at this, "Seriously, dude? That's the pettiest reason for revenge I've ever heard."

"So are you gonna help me or own up to mom and dad?" Dylan replied with a smug look, folding his arms.

"Oh, all right." Dante groaned, "You can help with the third stage of the prank. Just try not to sneeze in our faces while we work our magic."

The goth turned away and started walking out the door when Dylan spoke up, "Oh yeah, one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"I don't work for free and if you're unable to pay up, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to blow the whistle on your little prank." Dylan replied smugly.

"Are you blackmailing me?" Dante blinked in shock, "And just HOW do you want me to pay you?"

"Play Poodlewolf with me for two weeks straight, Dante." Dylan said coldly, "It's not too big of a price now, is it?"

The goth groaned and buried his face in his paws, "How about every Wednesday and Sunday night for two weeks?"

"So four nights total?" Dylan echoed Dante's words from earlier, "Looks like you've got yourself a deal. We'll wait til the Dimitris are asleep then spring into action."

Meanwhile, Deepak and Da Vinci were sitting and doing yoga together. Deepak smiled at the artistic pup, "I'm so glad you agreed to yoga with me."

"You're welcome, Deepak. Some good old relaxation technique should be getting my creative juices flowing in no time." Da Vinci nodded, "By the way, is it just me or is Dolly acting kind of strange lately?"

"Strange?" Deepak blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, she seems like she's up to something." Da Vinci replied, shifting into a downwards dog pose, "But then again, it could just be my imagination running wild."

"Now that you mention it, I have not talked to Dolly since she bandaged my paw." Deepak said, doing a mountain pose, "It's pretty much always been Dylan checking up on me and it's not like Dolly to turn her back on an injured family member."

"Do you think she's sneaking out to see Hansel?" Da Vinci suggested, "Maybe she has romance on her mind."

"Somehow I doubt it." Deepak shook his head, "She was awfully determined to get back at the Dimitris even after I begged her not to. Do you think she listened to my advice?"

"Honestly, I doubt it." Da Vinci said bluntly, "You know just how stubborn she can be. Once she gets an idea in her head, it's almost impossible to get it out."

"Can't argue with that logic." Deepak chuckled, shifting into a sun salutation pose, "I just hope she hasn't gone and done anything foolish."

Later that night, the Dimitris had since fallen asleep, likely panicked themselves into exhaustion while Dolly waited for Dante to return. Dante stepped out of the shadows but the next thing Dolly saw took her completely by surprise as Dylan followed suit, "Dylan? Wh-what's going on?"

Dolly turned to Dante, "Were you secretly reporting our prank to Dylan this whole time?"

Dante shook his head, "The Dimitris escaped time out and spilled the beans to him." The goth's ears wilted and so did his tail, "He blackmailed me just so he could get in on our prank."

Dolly chuckled a bit, "Wow, bro. I didn't know you had it in you. What made you want to join in?"

"The Dimitri's said Poodlewolf sucks." Dylan replied, his eyes slowly puffing up from the cat odor coming from the trio.

Dolly rolled her eyes at this, "Seriously, dude? That's the pettiest reason for revenge I've ever heard."

"I KNOW, RIGHT?!" Dante gasped out loud.

"I've got the costumes." Dylan said, a glob of snot now hanging from his nose, "Let's dress these little piggies! ACHOO!"

Dante swiftly dodged the booger that shot out of Dylan's nose, "You know, you probably should wear a mask while doing this."

"You're right." Dylan nodded with a sniffle, "Wait for me, I'll be right back."

And with that, Dylan dashed down the hall and into Deepak's room where the noticed his younger brother quietly flipping through a book on meditation, "Hey Deepak, you wouldn't happen to have any masks, would you? I ran out of disposable ones when we all had the flu last month."

"No, but I have some herbs and spices to calm your sinuses down. I can see you're suffering from your cat allergy again." Deepak replied, "Feel free to take what you need."

"Thanks, Deepak." Dylan replied, grabbing some herbs and spices and shoving them in his nostrils. He sniffled and almost instantly, his nose began clearing up, "Wow, these really work like a charm. Now I can get back to business."

Dylan did exactly just that as Deepak got back to flipping through his book. When he returned, he noticed that Dolly was dressing up Dimitri 1 while Dante was dressing up Dimitri 2. Both of them were snoring contently as the tomboy and goth put the cat hoods over their heads. Dylan just grinned evilly and got to dressing Dimitri 3 in the remaining cat costume, "That should do it."

Dolly smiled at her brothers, "All right. Now all we gotta do is wait til morning. That's when the REAL fun starts!"

"This is gonna be SOOOOOOO epic!" Dylan squealed with delight, clapping his paws as he bounced up and down with a twisted smile on his face.

"Bro, you're starting to creep me out a little." Dante chuckled nervously, "Even I've got limits, you know."


	6. Deepak's Wrath

The next morning, The Dimitri trio woke up to the sound of thunder outside and rain pattering against the window. Dimitri 1 stood up on his haunches and rubbed his eyes, staring back at his reflection in the glass. He blinked a few times and then his eyes widened in horror. Staring back at him was a face with cat ears and whiskers and he let out a loud scream. He then turned to face his doppelgangers and screamed again when he saw they had identical cat costumes.

"IT'S REALLY TRUE! IT'S REALLY, REALLY TRUE! THE CURSE IS REAL!" Dimitri 2 screamed as Dimitris 1 and 3 ran around in circles, also screaming their heads off.

Dolly perked up and yawned with a smirk on her face, "Looks like Dante was right, have fun being cats for the rest of your lives!"

"NOOOOOOOO!" The trio wailed loudly as they raced about frantically.

"Let's each grab one and leave them outside, Dylan." Dolly laughed evilly, "Cats hate water, right?"

Dylan nodded in agreement, "Can't have allergens effecting our house now, can we?"

Dante's jaw dropped at this, "You guys can't be serious, can you? You're seriously going to lock your OWN brothers out in the rain?"

"Remember the time we all got infected with fleas?" Dylan replied, folding his arms, "Well, same thing here but this time, it's irreversible. It's THEIR fault for upsetting Guru Meow so they CHOSE to get cursed. So out they go! Being around cats is one thing but living with them is something I just can't deal with."

"I...I don't think I even KNOW you anymore." Dante replied sadly, tears forming in his eyes.

"Fine, then!" Dolly lashed out, "Chicken out on our prank. We've gotten this far, Dante and NOW you want to quit? Just cause of that, I'm not gonna listen to your stupid edgelord poetry."

"My...my poetry isn't stupid." Dante whimpered submissively as he crawled into the shadows to hide his tears.

Dolly rolled her eyes at the goth, "Looks like Dylan and I gonna be teaching these three a lesson."

And with that Dolly grabbed Dimitris 1 and 2 in her arms while Dylan grabbed Dimitri 3. Dante and the rest of the house watched in horror as the oldest brother and sister carried the troublemaking trio to the front door. With his free paw, Dylan pressed the scanner and they set the crying, protesting Dimitris outside. Before they could even get back inside, Dolly enabled the door's locking mechanism, leaving them outside in the downpour.

"Let us in! Let us in!" The Dimitris wailed outside, scratching as the door as the rain violently poured down on them and soaked their cat costumes.

"No way!" Dylan yelled, "Not until you think about what you've done!"

"Yeah!" Dolly chimed in, "It's all your fault for picking on Deepak."

Dante whimpered softly from the shadows, feeling guilt poisoning his heart, "What have we done? This has gone too far...I need to put a stop to this madness."

The goth melted away into the blackness and dashed through a dark shortcut area that led to Deepak's bed where the ying-yang colored pup was sitting on his cushion, deep in a state of meditation. Dante snapped his fingers while trying to frantically shake Deepak awake but the pup wouldn't budge. Immediately, the goth's eyes darted to a nearby matchbook on the table and then to a scented candle by Deepak. He knew how to wake up the smaller pup. Instantly, Dante grabbed the book and struck the match, lighting it and pressing it to the wick of the candle. The aroma of sandlewood wafted from the candle and entered Deepak's nostrils and his eyes slowly opened.

Instantly, Dante grabbed him and pulled him close to his face, "Dylan and Dolly have gone crazy and locked The Dimitris out of the house! IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!"

"WHAT?!" Deepak gasped loudly, jumping to his feet.

"Follow me!" Dante yelled and Deepak nodded, following his goth brother out of the room.

Amidst all the chaos, Deepak stepped out into the main area and stared at shock and horror at the sight before him. He watched as Dylan and Dolly deliberately had the door on lockdown while Dante stared on with a horrified look on his own face. The ying-yang patterened pup could hear the sound of rain pouring down on the Dimitris as they cried and begged to be let in, literally scratching at the door. For a couple minutes, Deepak stood frozen in time but then, he felt a fiery rage burning deep inside his stomach. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried his very hardest to quell his anger with his meowing mantra but it was nothing compared to the Dimitri's sobbing. Something inside the zen little pup snapped and his emotions exploded like a nuclear bomb.

Just then, Deepak opened his mouth and screamed at the top of his lungs, "LET THEM IN!"

"But they-" Dylan began but Deepak jumped upon him and began slapping him across the face as hard as he could, "I said! LET! THEM! IN! UNLOCK THE DAMN DOOR!"

Dylan could see the white hot rage in his little brother's eyes and complied, disabling the security system. Immediately, the Dimitris dashed through the door, sobbing and shivering wet as they made a beeline for the heater to dry off.

Dylan glared at Deepak, "You're groun-"

But he was met with another stinging slap to the face, "NO! YOU'RE the one who should be grounded! I don't CARE if YOU'RE the OLDER brother! YOU'RE the one acting like a BABY! As a matter of fact, I'm betting that little DOROTHY is more mature than YOU!"

"I...I beg your pardon?" Dylan blinked in shock, flabbergasted, "How so?"

"How so? HOW SO? HOW SO?!" Deepak fumed, fire blazing in his eyes, "I'll tell you how so! Do you have any idea what it's like to be so SMALL and GENTLE that everyone steps all over you like some sort of WELCOME MAT? Yeah. I remember the time you YANKED me away from my meditation session and FORCED me into your little ACTING escapade when Triple D double-booked themselves. I also remember that time you gave me the COLD SHOULDER and banished me to the BASEMENT when I got fleas alongside the REST OF YOUR OWN FUR AND BLOOD. And of course, let's not forget the time when your retreated to your TREEHOUSE like the WEAK, SPINELESS COWARD you are when DIESEL GOT ELECTED TOP DOG AND MADE A MESS OF EVERYTHING! Just what kind of TERRIBLE BIG BROTHER are you?"

"Oh snap, he just roasted you GOOD, Dylan!" Dolly laughed as Dylan hung his head and tried his best not to cry.

"And YOU, Dolly! You're no angel, either! You LIED to me THROUGH YOUR TEETH. You told me that you were going to turn the other cheek and leave The Dimitris alone even after they TREATED ME LIKE TRASH. I thought I could trust your word but you know what? YOU'RE NO WORSE THAN YOUR BROTHER! Oh yeah, and I remember the time you THREW ME UNDER THE BUS when we were getting ready for a snow day. You could care less when I was covered in SHAMPOO AND KIBBLE because all you gave a DAMN about was ONE-UPPING OUR PARENTS!" Deepak ranted furiously, "Furthermore, the way you treated the Dimitris DISGUSTS ME BEYOND BELIEF! How on EARTH could you LOCK YOUR OWN FAMILY OUT OF THE HOUSE IN A STORM?! Guru Meow DOES NOT approve of such cruelty!"

"I...I...I'm sorry..." Dolly replied weakly, fighting back her own tears.

"Too late for that because I'm leaving this TOXIC FAMILY behind and starting a brand new life with a human WHO ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT MY WELL-BEING and doesn't treat me like some sort or DOORMAT to wipe his FILTHY BOOTS on." Deepak spat, angry tears forming in his own eyes as he got and marched his way to his bed.

"You...you can't leave!" Dylan squeaked tearfully as Dolly patted his back.

"Just watch me." Deepak snarled back, his own tears now falling from his eyes.

"He's gonna get humaned up!" Dante whined, "THE END IS NIGH!"

"Sh-shut up, D-dante..." Dylan choked through his sobs as a defeated Dolly tried her best to console him.

Meanwhile, Deepak was packing his bags in his room, angrily shoving his scented candles and new age knick-knacks in his bag as his tiny body convulsed with angry sobs. Da Vinci stepped into the room and stared at Deepak with tears in her eyes, "Are...are you really leaving?"

"I'm sorry, Da Vinci." Deepak sniffed, "I just...can't be in this place anymore. I...I hate this house too much..."

"I'm...really going to miss you." Da Vinci whimpered as a paint stained tear rolled down her face.

"Just...go away, Da Vinci. Please don't make this harder than it already is..." Deepak begged as hot, angry tears streamed from his tightly shut eyes.

"But, Deepak-"

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Deepak screeched in anger, making the tearful artist flinch. A horrified Da Vinci then watched as Deepak tore the head clean off of her paper Guru Meow gift in a fit of rage, throwing it to the floor.

"G...goodbye then..." Da Vinci ran out of the room, crying openly.

The sound of Da Vinci's sobbing tore Deepak's heart out and he felt remorseful for destroying her gift but he was going to go through with his plan. As soon as he finished packing his things, he hauled his stash down the stairs and to the front door. Dylan and Dolly watched with tears in their eyes as Deepak hauled his belongings to the door. Neither of them could say a word to convince him otherwise because they both knew just how badly they screwed up. All Dolly could do was stroke her crying brother's back as remorseful tears streamed down Dylan's muzzle.

Furiously, Deepak pressed his paw to the scanner and as soon as the door opened, he could see Doug and Delilah standing before him. He could only glare and snarl at the one thing stopping him from his freedom, "I have had it UP TO HERE! ONE GOOD REASON. Give me one good reason for me to STAY in this NIGHTMARE of a family!"

Doug scanned across the room and noticed that most of the pups were upset and crying. He bit his lip, "I knew something bad was going to happen while we left."

Delilah placed a paw on Deepak's head and smiled at him worriedly, "I'll give you a few good reasons, Deepak. Follow me."

Breathing out a sigh, the ying-yang puppy followed his mom into the room with the wide screen TV. The two sat on the couch and Delilah pressed the remote with her paw, turning on the TV. She pressed a button on the remote and a menu popped up on the screen with a list of the names of the pups. She scrolled all the way down to Deepak and pressed the play button. Immediately, Deepak was treated to a slideshow of all the good times he had at the house as "Interrupted By Fireworks" from the Final Fantasy VII Soundtrack played during the montage. Apparently, DJ was a closet Final Fantasy geek since he was the one who slapped together the music for the pup montages. Images flashed through the screen. He and Dolly meditating together on Dolly's Skateboard. Him giving Dylan a big hug. Him sharing a lemonade with Dante. Him giving Delgado a high five. Him doing art with Da Vinci. As he watched the montage, Deepak's anger slowly melted away into sadness and remorse and it wasn't long for his tears to start flowing again.

Delilah placed a paw on his shoulder, "You see, living with many siblings can be rough but in the end, we deeply love each and every one of you."

"I...I'm so sorry. I'm such a fool." Deepak choked out a sob as he buried his face in his paws, "I was so sick and tired of everything that I just lashed out...all this negative energy built up inside my heart that I...forgot the teachings of Guru Meow..."

Tenderly, Delilah licked Deepak's tears from his muzzle and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, "Just let it all out, Deepak. Don't be afraid to cry."

And with that, Deepak wept openly in his mother's arms as the harsh words he doled out at Dylan and Dolly and his callous treatment of Da Vinci broke away at his tender little heart.

Meanwhile, Doug was hugging both Dylan and Dolly who were reduced to full-on sobbing fits over Deepak's angry rant, "Tell me everything that happened."

Dolly was able to get her emotions under control unlike Dylan so she was the one to explain, "Well, it all started when Delgado and The Dimitris started playing chase in the house and the Dimitris ended up breaking Deepak's Guru Meow. The Dimitris made fun of him for crying about it while Delgado told us what happened. When I was helping out Deepak, he told me that he yelled at the Dimitris and told them that Guru Meow would curse them for their bullying. This gave me an idea to talk to Dante about curses and the two of us came up with a prank to teach the Dimitris a lesson. The first step of the prank went just fine but it wasn't long before Dylan found out and made Dante tell him about our plan. Instead of reporting us to you, Dylan agreed to join in on the prank because he was also mad at the Dimitris over something really stupid."

"Poodlewolf isn't stupid!" Dylan bawled, interrupting his sister.

"Anyway, the plan panned out as normal but as soon as Dylan and I decided to lock the Dimitris out in the rain, Dante decided he had enough and told Deepak about what we did. Deepak was angrier than we've ever seen him in his life and he yelled at us." Dolly hung her head sadly, "It was then that we realized how awful we've been treating him but by then, it was too late. Deepak decided he wanted out of this family and live with a human and nothing we could say could convince him otherwise."

"And the worst part was..." Dylan sniffed, gaining control of his emotions, "He was absolutely right. We've treated him like dirt countless times in the past so I can't blame him for going off on us."

Doug closed his eyes and breathed a deep sigh, "I think everyone owes each other an apology over the way they've acted. I'm sure Deepak will forgive you in his own time, he's not one to hold grudges."

The Dimitris instantly made a beeline towards Doug, tears rolling down their muzzles as they cried openly into their father's fur, "Poor things are all wet and freezing. My hugs should help warm them up."

It was then that Delilah entered the living room where Doug was comforting the Dimitri trio while Dylan and Dolly had stopped crying. "Where's Deepak?" Dylan asked with a concerned look.

"Deepak cried himself to sleep in my arms so it's best to just let him sleep. He's had a pretty rough day." Delilah explained softly, "He's really sorry about the way he yelled at you. Poor Deepak bottled up his emotions and just let it all out on you."

"Tell him that we're sorry as well when he wakes up." Dolly said with a nod, "We'll never do anything to hurt or mistreat him again."

"Either way, both of you are grounded." Doug shook his head sadly, "And you owe the Dimitris an apology."

"And we'll all be doing a family activity tomorrow." Delilah added, "To make sure this never happens again, we'll be learning a few things from Deepak. He'll be teaching us about Guru Meow and why he's so important to him."

"Family meditation?" Dolly blinked, "You can't be serious, mom!"

"I just hope I don't see the abyss when I close my eyes." Dante whimpered softly, shivering a little.

Dylan stepped next to Dante and tapped him on the shoulder, "Don't forget, you also gotta play Poodlewolf with me."

"Man, I wish I could just sleep the entire day away." Dante groaned

"It's not gonna kill you, Dante." Dylan rolled his eyes, "Besides, you nap too much, anyways."

"But sleep helps ease my mind from the apocalypse!" Dante whined, pulling his ears. Dylan and Dolly just rolled their eyes at their gothic brother's melodrama.

Meanwhile, Delgado was walking through the halls of the house when he heard a the faint sound of crying coming from the restroom. Slowly, he stood up on his wheels and opened the door. Instantly, he was greeted to the sight of Da Vinci who was weeping softly into her paint-stained paws. His heart sank at the sight, "Da Vinci? What's the matter? Why are you crying?"

Da Vinci gave a wet sniffle in response as she rubbed her eyes with her paws, "It's...nothing. I'll be fine. Just...don't worry about me. Okay?"

Delgado frowned and stared at the floor, "Can I...at least give you a hug?"

The artist did her best to smile as she walked up to the paraplegic pup and pulled him into a hug of her own, "Only if you let me hug you first."

Nodding, Delgado hugged her back and gave her a cuddle to try and comfort her, "Please try to cheer up. Okay, Da Vinci? I don't like to see you cry."

"Like I said, Delgado. Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine." Da Vinci sniffed quietly, rubbing her eyes a bit.


	7. Final Apology

Nearly a week had passed since the fateful day of the prank and everything had seemingly went back to normal after a family meditation session. A lot of apologizing had happened throughout the week. Deepak was quick to forgive The Dimitris for their bullying, moving them to tears of joy but it took a little pushing from Doug and Delilah for him to forgive Dylan and Dolly for their past treatment of him. Likewise, both Dylan and Dolly apologized to the Dimitris for locking them out in the rain and they accepted the apology, saying that they kind of deserved it. Dolly apologized to Dante for insulting his poetry and even agreed to listen to it. Likewise, Dante played Poodlewolf with Dylan and much to Dylan's surprise, he was actually pretty good at it. But there was one last apology to make.

Deepak closed his eyes and took a deep breath. For days, he had been avoiding Da Vinci. As a matter of fact, there was no way he could look his artistic sister in the eye without feeling sick with guilt. The sounds of her sobbing haunted him as he remembered how he tore up the paper mache Guru Meow she made for him. Sniffling, a tear dripped off Deepak's face and landed on his yoga cushion as Dolly placed a paw on his shoulder, "You can't keep this up forever, Deepak. Sooner or later, you're gonna have to talk to Da Vinci and get this sorted out."

"I know, Dolly." Deepak replied, drying his eyes with a paw, "I just wish I never snapped at her in the first place. She never did anything wrong."

"I know exactly what you're going through, Deepak." Dolly said, patting her younger brother and stroking his head, "Do you remember the time when I lashed out at Dylan and Roxy because Roxy neglected me in favor of him?"

Deepak blinked tearfully and tried to chuckle a bit, "Of course I remember, there's no way I could forget."

"So you see, Deepak. We all get a little mad and fly off the handle sometimes." Dolly smiled warmly, cuddling her little brother, "So right now we'll be going over to Da Vinci's room together. Don't worry, little bro. I'll be there by your side in case you're nervous."

"Do you think...do you think that Da Vinci hates me?" Deepak whimpered softly, his ears wilted as he slouched over in guilt.

"Aw, Deepak. Da Vinci is super nice, I don't think she hates you at all." Dolly replied as she continued petting the ying-yang puppy.

Deepak took a deep breath and tried his best to smile, "Sister, I think that I am ready."

"That's the spirit, now let's go confront her together." Dolly grinned, giving Deepak a big hug.

And so, the tomboy and ying-yang patterned puppy got up and walked out into the hallway where Dante slipped out of the shadows, "Hey, you two. Gotcha a gift, Deepak."

Dante held up the paper mache Guru Meow that Deepak had previously beheaded in a fit of rage only it was glued back together, "Fixed this for ya. Found it while lurking in the shadows."

"Dante..." Deepak sniffled, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Just cause my fur is dark doesn't mean my heart is dark as well." Dante chuckled, handing the paper doll to Deepak. Overjoyed, Deepak threw his arms around his gothic brother and squeezed him into a tight hug, "Thank you so much, Dante! You have no idea just how much this means to me."

"You're welcome, Deepak." Dante replied with a smile as Deepak released his vice grip of a hug, "Good luck on apologizing to Da Vinci, I've noticed the tension between the two of you is so thick you can cut it with a knife."

"That's why I'm with him." Dolly replied, "For support."

Dante smiled softly and nodded, "You're a good big sister, Dolly. If either of you need me, I'll be in my brand new doomsday bunker."

"Doomsday bunker?" Dolly and Deepak asked in unison.

"I begged Dawkins to build me one until he finally agreed." Dante replied matter-of-factly, "My persistence payed off."

"Oooookay then." Dolly rolled her eyes, "Anyway, I'll see you later, Dante. Deepak and I have an artist to talk to."

And with that, Dante disappeared into the shadows as Dolly and Deepak continued down the hallway and stopped in front of Da Vinci's room. Deepak whimpered softly, his heart racing a mile a minute as he fought back a lump in his throat and blinked at the sting of tears. Dolly placed a paw on his shoulder, "You going to be okay, Deepak?"

Deepak nodded slowly and Dolly smiled at him, "Now, go speak to her. I'm sure she'll forgive you, bro."

Mustering up all the courage he had, Deepak entered Da Vinci's room. His eyes darted around the room, gazing at all the canvasses she painted on before he looked over to where she was painting on a canvas with her paws, "Da...Vinci?"

"Oh, hello Deepak. Would you like to talk to me? Cause I've noticed you've been avoiding me all week." Da Vinci replied, putting the finishing touches on her painting.

"Yeah, about that..." Deepak lowered his head as a salty tear rolled down his nose, "I..."

The ying-yang patterned puppy gave a soft sniffle, too choked up to finish his sentence as his artistic sister approached him. She took off her maroon bandanna and used it to dash the tear away from Deepak's snout before slowly wrapping her arms around him and cradling him close. Deepak buried his face into Da Vinci's chest and just let himself cry. Da Vinci felt a warm, salty tear of her own running down her snout as she rested her head on top of his as she stroked his head. It took a good 10 minutes of cuddling before the two broke away.

"Oh Da Vinci, I'm so sorry for lashing out at you like that, I'll never do that again." Deepak whimpered shakily, "I...I never meant to hurt you. If...if you hate me, I...I don't blame you..."

"I don't hate you at all, Deepak." Da Vinci replied, giving her brother a quick hug while nuzzling his ear, "You're one of the nicest, most sweetest brothers I could ever ask for. Believe me, I know what it's like to bottle up anger and explode and I've done it many times before. So please, don't be so hard on yourself. I forgive you, Deepak. Just please, no more tears, okay?"

Wiping his eyes, Deepak nodded sheepishly as he presented Da Vinci with the fixed paper mache Guru Meow, "Oh yeah, Dante fixed this with some glue."

"Aww, that's so sweet of him." Da Vinci smiled as she took it into her paws, "Beneath his gothic exterior, Dante's got a heart of gold."

"Yeah." Deepak sniffed gently, "He was the one who alerted me to Dylan and Dolly locking the Dimitris out."

It was then that Dolly stepped into the room, "Honestly, Dante could be seen as a hero. I know it sounds weird but if it wasn't for him chickening out on our prank, who knows how sick the Dimitris could've gotten out there?"

Deepak slowly nodded, "Yes, Dolly. Even Dante has his limits. I'm just glad everything is back to normal now."

Dolly smiled and placed a paw on Deepak's shoulder, "After breakfast, would you like to go to the park and skateboard?"

Deepak shook his head, "Sorry, Dolly. I think I'd rather just stay in the house and enjoy a hot, soothing mineral bath."

"You're right, Deepak." Dolly chuckled, "Everything is back to normal."

Deepak snickered a bit at Dolly's response before all three of them erupted into laughter. And with that, all the tension and negative energy from the Dalmatian house was finally lifted. The end.


End file.
